Another episode of Businesses with Impact, a partnership between CATÓLICA-LISBON and Rádio Renascença, introduces us to Miguel Alemão, founder of Chulé, a Portuguese brand that sells customized socks, using original designs and sustainable practices.
Miguel Alemão, an alumnus of CATÓLICA-LISBON, considers the Marketing course to have had the greatest impact on his professional life. Since he was young, he always aspired to have his own company: “The marketing courses at CATÓLICA-LISBON truly shaped me.” Miguel highlights the institution’s demanding and fast-paced environment, which fosters competition and teamwork. “We did several group projects with people from different nationalities and ways of thinking,” he adds.
His passion for business is split between the restaurant industry, he also owns Conca, a restaurant, and Chulé, a brand of fun and unique socks.
The idea for Chulé came about between 2017 and 2018 in Madrid, during a conversation among partners. “We already had the itch to start a business. We talked about t-shirts or even exploring a small café,” Miguel recalls, but one thing that stood out at the time in Madrid was colorful socks. With a controlled and well-measured investment, they saw an opportunity to bring the colorful sock concept to Portugal.
And so it was, through a roadmap of differentiation, that Miguel Alemão and his two partners decided that Portuguese identity and sustainability would be the pillars of this sock brand, featuring joyful patterns and colors. “We had some criteria in the selection (...) regarding the minimum quantities that factories produce, prices, the type of materials they use, suppliers, and the origin of the yarns.” It took about six months to find the right partner. The alumnus also mentions that proximity to the factory is key to ensuring quality: “We tried to visit the factory, follow the production process, and make sure everything was coming out as we wanted.”
The brand’s first pairs of socks were launched at the end of 2019, and despite facing an unprecedented phase like all other businesses due to COVID-19, Miguel recalls, “we had a very positive signal during Christmas when we realized our business is extremely seasonal. 80% of sales happen in two months of the year, November and December.”
In 2021, the founders of Chulé dedicated themselves fully to the business as the company demanded more time and attention. Currently, Chulé is available in over 50 stores across the country. In 2021, the company focused on national expansion, with increasing interest from retail and souvenir shops in selling these fun socks.
In 2022, they acquired a sock brand focused on football, which eased their entry into the football world and enabled partnerships with the Portuguese Football Federation and the country's three biggest clubs. These collaborations, initiated in 2023 with the clubs and in 2024 with the Federation, have been crucial for the brand’s growth.
In addition to commercial growth, Chulé is committed to sustainability. Production takes place near Lisbon to minimize environmental impact. The brand also engages in charitable initiatives, such as donating one euro for every pack of socks sold to plant a tree and support the Soma foundation. In 2023, Chulé donated more than 1% of its revenues to environmental and social causes, aligning itself with the global initiative 1% for the Planet.
Although Chulé began with products that emphasize Portuguese identity, its biggest current challenge is expanding internationally. “We’ve already had orders from Australia, Japan, the United States and Canada,” says Miguel. They are also working on developing partnerships with popular movies and series, though details remain under wraps for now. Always creating collections that, while connected to Portugal, have international appeal, Miguel notes that “our goal is to grow abroad while maintaining our Portuguese identity.”
Chulé, a name initially seen as controversial, is now a business with impact because “since its inception, it has focused heavily on sustainability and bringing societal impact both environmentally and socially, and of course, through its designs, because no one can ignore fun socks,” concludes Miguel Alemão, leaving advice for those in the early stages of building a new business: have passion for what you do and resilience, because not every day is easy in an entrepreneur’s life.